http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6857/bleach23902v2lm4.jpg
Who wants to vote Ichigo for President?

Surprise, surprise...! That's right, a review on something else other than Naruto this week! The loveable Dragonzair here once gleefully asked me to do a Ten Comments on Bleach, but I hesitated, because I wasn't sure if I even had the time. Now I do, kinda, but I still didn't this review all in one go, which is the reason why it took me until the next Wednesday night to finally post it. Well, following my Naruto 319 review, I started working on bits and bits every day. Not to mention since a Bleach chapter is structured a bit differently from the typical Naruto chapter, I had to think about how I wanted to organize my Ten Comments a little bit more than usual. In any case, I can't promise that I'll be able to keep it up on weekly basis (especially if Gigantor goes back to reviewing it) but still, it was fun to do something else than Naruto once in a while. :) Might take a crack at a OP chapter sometimes, too.

Anyway, so I'm known as a Narutard here, but some of you might be surprised that I read Bleach. Well, when Viz first started publishing it in America, around a year and a half ago or so, I liked the concept enough to pick it up (even though it resembled Yu Yu Hakusho a little bit, a similarity I would soon realize was completely unfounded). Much like Naruto, I've enjoyed Bleach from the set-go. I used to only wait until the latest volumes came out, but last winter my friend Mel (aka Occa) finally convinced me to start downloading Bleach, and I've never looked back since.

All the same, I haven't read Bleach for as long as I have Naruto, so I'm still relatively new to it. I've only re-read the whole series about.... 10 times! :noworry

First, let me just say this. Say whatever you want about his writing, Tite Kubo is most assuredly a master of character design. He has managed to give every single character in this manga a wonderfully memorable and well-rounded personality, and for that reason I consider the Character Popularity contests in Bleach considerably more interesting than the ones in most manga out there. Sequential story-telling is also another aspect of Kubo's craft that I consider nearly peerless - his ability to constantly charge his panels with emotional art is something I haven't seen very often. However, I do not consider him as skilled a writer as Kishimoto or Oda - although his characters might carry the chapters with their usually entertaining dialogue just fine, the story itself lacks a lot of momentum at times.

But in recent months, Tite Kubo may be knocking on the door a little bit as far as coming up with an inventive plot. So, I decided to start reviewing with Chapter 239 which definitely seems to be starting a whole new journey for both the characters AND the readers.

One final thing, because I just have to say so. Djudge of BleachForums, THANK YOU very much for continuing to translate Bleach all these weeks we've been here!!! It's because of your beautifully-done scripts that we've never had to be impatient for a Bleach translation. We really owe you one, dude!

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2715/bleach23901kw4.jpg
'Cause Ichigo has some issues.

1. A Little Recognition Goes a Long Way. We see the green-haired Vizard, Mashiro, rushing to deliver a package to Shinji in her own charming way (being completely ignorant of the contents - good thing it wasn't a bomb from the Arrancar)! It's revealed to contain freshly-unwrapped bandages from the time Ichigo spent his time recuperating at the Vizards' hideout, and a quickly-scrabbled "Thank You" note. Typically in character for Ichigo, he found it too difficult to say 'thank you' to these odd strangers for all their help with his training.

Yet, even though Shinji was somewhat disparaging of Ichigo's intentions here, I'm sure that deep down he did appreciate that his recent understudy at the very least expressed some form of gratitude. The Vizards, being neither Shinigami nor Arrancar but both, seem like a lonely race, hungry for both recognition and some kind of acceptance by others. So this simple action may actually come back to help Ichigo tremendously at some point. As revealed in his battle against Grimmjaw, after all, Shinji had still not really taken any side (http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/6383/m7bleachch23605hm9.jpg) in the Shinigami-Arrancar war, preferring to be neutral and only had participated out of concern for Ichigo (even if he didn't admit it), but he and his comrades may yet join the battle out of respect for the bonds they've formed with Ichigo. The little things REALLY do count...

2. I'll Take Mine On The Rocks, Please. Tite Kubo usually inserts his covers about four or five pages well after the chapter's already started. But with double spreads, he often does it right off the bat - and hey, why not? His work's almost always beautifully colored, fascinating, and usually loaded with pop culture references, and sometimes even seem to even be propagandic in nature. This one is no different.

This time Kubo seems to go back to the past with the Victorian attire. We see Ichigo, Renji, Urahara, and Hitsugaya in here, all sitting and stern-looking behind a row of 'Pigeon Ruby' bottles which look more like they contain blood. The message "All Peoples are Vampires," make it obviously an intentional thing, and I've gotta wonder if Tite Kubo's just pissed off at humanity in general. Ichigo certainly seems to be here.

I've also got to chuckle a little over Tite Kubo's fondness for using Renji in particular for all the double spreads. Ichigo I would understand, because he's the main hero, after all. But Renji - I think Kubo's a little in love with Renji as a character more so than the others - not that I blame him, because Renji's indeed got a very interesting design. Especially with all these tattooes decorating his body.

Incidentally, note that the cover of Volume 23 was revealed here in the lower left corner, and looks to be displaying a pretty kick-butt cover of Ikkaku. Good thing too! Ikkaku was definitely the highlight of that volume, so I'm glad to see him on there.

3. See What Happens When You Don't Write Letters? You know when Ichigo's been away a long time when even his teacher gets on his back about it. This is the very same woman who not only dismisses no-shows as slackers, but also lets Ichigo run to the bathroom and miss class probably every day! Even Mizuiro, somebody who had likely gotten used to Ichigo's frequent leave of absences by now, became worried.

Guess even one month of being absent would have come across as being pretty bad, though. First there was the training he did with the Vizards, then the battle with Grimmjow, and then the recuperation from his injuries, which Orihime had a part in healing. I suppose he was lucky that his first mission into the Soul Society to rescue Rukia had been over the summer, because he would have had to re-take the whole year! (Along with Chad, Ishida, and Orihime.)

Although anybody who knew Ichigo even a little probably would be worried (except probably the dense Asano), after Ichigo's polite response to Mizuiro's inquiry.

After all, Ichigo is NEVER polite - unless he's bothered by something. Orihime, who knew his behavior pattern the best of anybody, was the first one to notice it in the series, and now we readers are attuned to his moods as well. And now the others are catching on as well - Mizuiro knew something was up immediately.

That's the beauty of Tite Kubo's character design right there - he's allowed the readers to understand Ichigo so well that we don't even question why Mizuiro was so suspicious. Even if we hadn't known that Orihime had been taken to Hueco Mundo, we probably would be going "Something's Wrong!" from Ichigo's reaction here, regardless.

Sidenote: I did enjoy the funny twist here Tite Kubo threw at us when we thought at first Ichigo was the one slamming Asano's head to the ground with his foot, but instead it was Mizuiro! Poor Asano gets picked on by everybody - even his closest friend! XD

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I think he just let the cat out of the bag...

4. Away For Two Months? Way to go, Ichigo. By revealing that you'll be away until at least the 5th of December (and it's probably only October at the moment, according to Shinji's thoughts in Chapter 229 (http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/2783/m7bleachch22909mj7.jpg)), you probably didn't help matters much by worrying Mizuiro even more. And making him wondering "WTF" to boot. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when you're as distant as all-out and just thinking out aloud.

I wonder if Tite Kubo's also hinting that this particular storyline will last until December in real time, as well. It's August right now, so that's about four full months of chapters to come before the onset of winter. Hopefully at least this won't be as long an arc as the whole Rescue of Rukia mission, because that one did kind of drag on a bit too long.

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Busted!

5. The Dragon Comes Out Roaring! Finally, Tatsuki, the dragon to Orihime's princess, comes onto the scene... and lets Ichigo know that she's known all along about their "extracurricular activies." Weirdly enough, and maybe it's because I haven't reread the series enough times, but somehow I just kept forgetting that Ichigo never really knew that Tatsuki could sense spirits as well. Tatsuki's such a cool character, and yet so often kept in the background, which is a big shame. I'd love to see her take a more prominent role.

Anyway, I don't blame Tatsuki at all for finding Ichigo and asking him what's going on. I'm definitely glad that Tite Kubo didn't forget about her relationship with Orihime. Obviously she would know something was terribly, terribly amiss, as well.

6. I'd Be Pissed, Too. Saw that one coming a mile away. Pow. Ichigo tries too hard to leave his friends out of his own problems, which is one of his real flaws - his tendency to try to solve all his problems on his own. While it may seem at first like he's trying to protect his friends, the truth is that he's afraid that anybody else would get hurt because of him. His pain-filled eyes said it all there. Even if his friends are powerful enough to come with him - he wouldn't have wanted them to get involved, as we saw later in the chapter. Much less friends that he knew wasn't prepared for the bad guys. Tatsuki saw right through it.

He's right though. Tatsuki wouldn't have been able to fend for herself at this stage of her character development, which she doesn't yet understand. She would stand about as much chance against the Arrancar as Ichigo's two sisters. But nonetheless, Ichigo at the very least should have been willing to tell Tatsuki the story of went on, and what transpired in the Soul Society and since they came back home. Because if one of Tatsuki's best friends won't tell her what's happened, who else will? Would have only taken a hour or so. So, I don't blame Tatsuki at all for punching him.

Especially after Ichigo said that Tatsuki had no business knowing what he does - well, wasn't it Orihime who Tatsuki spoke to all the time? She definitely had the right to know, more than anybody else, what might have happened to her. Being left in the dark about her friend was probably the worst thing that Ichigo could have possibly done to her at that moment.

Anyway, guess this would be a good time for me to explain why I still find Ichigo a very interesting protagonist. Most are dissatisfied with him because he seemed to develop too quickly, too fast - for example, his battle with Kenpachi. I've heard people say that Kenpachi should have won that one, based on pure experience and battlepower, even despite Zangestu's intervention. Then Byakuya, another case of rising to a new level of invulernability in what amounts to almost only couple of days. Only the amazing prowess of Aizen cut short Ichigo's streak of wins in the Soul Society.

I won't deny that Ichigo's definitely a powerhouse, but what really holds him back are his own emotional shortcomings. He's his own worst enemy, and that's what still intrigues me about him. He's never really gotten to the point where he was more comfortable with the people around him, even now. Will he ever learn? That's where I believe his character will develop the most over the course of the series.

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Good thing he's not a U.S.-Mexico border guard.

7. Back to the Magician! Not at all surprised Ichigo went back to the Urahara Shoten shop for help. Urahara is the one guy who could probably care less if he's going against the rules of the Soul Society and who CAN pull any kind of rabbit out of his hat in order to help Ichigo achieve his objectives. Such a convenient stand-by character like that must be nice for Tite Kubo to have, but I suppose you can't argue that Urahara isn't just awesome one way or another.

I'm glad, too, that Urahara admitted that it was somehow his own fault that Orihime was captured. I was worried for a while that he actually manipulated everything so that Aizen would capture her to serve some hidden purposes of his own. I was pretty happy that Urahara was shown to be completely surprised when Yami, Luppi, and Wonderwyce were all pulled back to Hueco Mundo before their fight was over. And now, the confession that he didn't foresee any of this happening really had me relieved. After what he pulled before with Rukia and the Hougyoku, the last thing I'd want to see is Urahara doing something similar with Orihime. Ichigo would have never trusted him again.

Even though Urahara is a great darkhorse-type character, I'd still like to see him firmly on the side of the angels for a while.

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Doing what they do best: intimidate the heck out of the readers.

8. Guess Who's Here. I expected Chad to appear before Ichigo went to the Hueco Mundo, but not Ishida at all. That was a surprise. I'd have thought that he would have come later.

Very interesting development. Came without any warning at all - I thought we'd be seeing some last words from Ishida's father before we saw him again. Well, he seems dressed in Quincy attire once again, so I'd daresay it's fair to assume that he's regained all his powers.

And probably more.

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I think I heard Zangetsu moaning in pain there.

9. Chad's Ready to Go! You know, being the hero's friend must be tough. To have a friend who's immensely powerful, yet somebody that you used to imagine yourself fighting side by side together. And then to find yourself suddenly becoming more often the victim than any real help. Tite Kubo seems to be exploring that point of perspective of being the "sidekick" in Yasutora Sado aka Chad here, and I'm liking it so far. Chad's not a particularly war-like guy, but he does have pride, and he doesn't like being left behind.

I'm sure we all remember the last time Chad tried to help Ichigo along his journey, and he got pwned by Shunsui. So this time, now that they're going into a land where the enemies are decidedly less human and more cruel, I'm cheering for Chad to prove his mettle. Maybe through Chad, Ichigo will come to recognize that he needs at times to accept the support of his friends, not outright refuse it out of fear.

10. Deja Vu All Over Again. Before Ichigo set off to rescue Rukia, Chad and Ishida were among the party that joined him to help him. Missing this time, of course, is Orihime, now the damsel in distress.

While I don't enjoy the idea of another "Save the Princess" storyline, something tells me that it won't quite turn out the same way as the last time. Orihime did say back in Chapter 228 that (http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/2420/m7bleachch22819it6.jpg) the next time Ichigo and she would meet, she wouldn't look to him for help, but rather be able to fight on her own. For her to once again depend on Ichigo to save her would defeat that promise, and be somewhat of a disappointment. I think Tite Kubo's preparing the readers for a completely different kind of story this time around.

One where Ichigo may actually be the one looking to his friends for help...! Perhaps his inner Hollow will cause him problems again at some point?

I'm glad they're finally going to invade the Hueco Mundo. The Arrancar have come to Earth enough already to disrupt things, now it's the good guys' turn to fight back.

I also have to wonder here: is Urahara going with them? He said, "Finally, it seems that WE'RE ready. Let's go." I'd love for that to be the case.

RATING: 4 out of 5 stars. As good a prologue to a storyarc as any. Very emotional.

Predictions: Probably going to see the team start down some kind of teleportal portal similar to the Senkaimon on their journey to the Hueco Mundo. I also tend to think/hope that Mizuiro, Asano, and Tatsuki may be sneaking along, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

Credits: Thanks to des's scanlation, and of course, Djudge's translation!

Hope you enjoyed, and looking forward to seeing what you think!

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Comment quickly, Asano can't hold her back for much longer...!

La_Muerte

August 23, 2006, 10:00 PM

first of all its really good that ur doing this cause u do a wonderful job on the naruto comments
so here i go im too lazy to quote so heres somethings i noticed:

vaizards are not both shinigami and arrancars, vaizards are shinigami who meddled in too deep into the whole hollow concept, while arrankars are hollows that meddled in the shinigami concept

All people are vampires thing, i think ive heard it on the Artic Monkeys cd, "Whatever people say i am, thats what im not", so i guess this is another pop culture reference by Kubo or it might be just coincidence

and my two cents is about how u said ichigo is a powerful character that keeps on getting more powerful, i think this is because of his dad, Isshin, my theory is that Isshin is the king who is away from his throne, so hes most powerful and ichigo inherited that and thats why hes really powerful. also i agree with you that ichigos emotions hold him back and thats why hes not as powerful as he could be, i mean look at Hichigo, he had no emotions and he didnt care about anything and everybody saw how powerful he was, i mean he coulda taken out Byakuya in 1 minute.

Gold Knight

August 23, 2006, 10:33 PM

first of all its really good that ur doing this cause u do a wonderful job on the naruto comments
so here i go im too lazy to quote so heres somethings i noticed:

vaizards are not both shinigami and arrancars, vaizards are shinigami who meddled in too deep into the whole hollow concept, while arrankars are hollows that meddled in the shinigami concept

Probably should've said a mix of shinigami and hollow instead of arrancar, but you get what I mean. :)

All people are vampires thing, i think ive heard it on the Artic Monkeys cd, "Whatever people say i am, thats what im not", so i guess this is another pop culture reference by Kubo or it might be just coincidence

No, likely it's what Kubo was referring to - unfortunately I'm a little dense as far as pop culture references so I'll be counting on you guys to help me out on that part of my Bleach reviews. Music isn't my thing, for a pretty good reason - I'm deaf.

So I have to go with what I see when I view the cover, how it makes me feel, and I get the impression here that Kubo's just trying to say something mean about humankind in general. But I could be totally wrong, of course.

and my two cents is about how u said ichigo is a powerful character that keeps on getting more powerful, i think this is because of his dad, Isshin, my theory is that Isshin is the king who is away from his throne, so hes most powerful and ichigo inherited that and thats why hes really powerful. also i agree with you that ichigos emotions hold him back and thats why hes not as powerful as he could be, i mean look at Hichigo, he had no emotions and he didnt care about anything and everybody saw how powerful he was, i mean he coulda taken out Byakuya in 1 minute.

I'm sure it IS because of Isshin, I agree completely there. I'm glad that Isshin was revealed to be a shinigami if for no other reason than it pretty much explained why Ichigo had so much spiritual power to start with.

Daioten

August 23, 2006, 11:05 PM

Well, this is the first of your '10 comments' series that i've read and i just have to say..

WOW... you're very good at this. your comments remind me of the literary analysis we had to do in my honors english classes durring my freshman year of college. Your analysis of Ichigo's character is perfect, in my opinion. He obviously knows that he should tell Tatsuki everything, and felt that he deserved to be punched for it (there's no way he would have been hit by it otherwise), but he's still too stubborn about trying to bear the burden by himself to do the right thing in this situation.

I've also been waiting throughout the entire series for Tatsuki to become more of a major character, and definately share your hopes that she will find some way to tag along to HM. :shakefist

Gold Knight

August 24, 2006, 07:57 AM

Well, this is the first of your '10 comments' series that i've read and i just have to say..

WOW... you're very good at this. your comments remind me of the literary analysis we had to do in my honors english classes durring my freshman year of college. Your analysis of Ichigo's character is perfect, in my opinion. He obviously knows that he should tell Tatsuki everything, and felt that he deserved to be punched for it (there's no way he would have been hit by it otherwise), but he's still too stubborn about trying to bear the burden by himself to do the right thing in this situation.

Glad you liked it, Daioten. And yep, exactly! :)

I've also been waiting throughout the entire series for Tatsuki to become more of a major character, and definately share your hopes that she will find some way to tag along to HM. :shakefist

Yeah!!! C'mon Tite Kubo!!!

Dragonzair

August 26, 2006, 03:36 AM

YAY.

<333

Thanks so much for doing this, Ken chan. <3 Appreciate this.

[1] AHAH. XD I love that green haired girl. Reminds me so much of Yachiru. Plus, its green hair! DUH!

[2] From the top three mangas, Bleach is probably the second best, next to One Piece, in coloured pages, or covers. One Piece is a work of art. Plus, we get alot of coloured tidbits. Which is lovely, imaginative, and OP-ish. Bleach meanwhile, has, as you said, pop culture reference and propagandic stuffies. Still, they're interesting. I really can't say the same for Naruto. >___>; Sorry. It's usually the main characters which get the covers, and the coloured pages aren't as interesting or as detailed as Kishi's older works. T^T

The Engrish made me smile in this page though. XD And what more, Kisuke's looking very smexy as usual. XD

[3] The best thing that I love in Bleach is the fact that side characters are surely to get screen time. Much more than Naruto ones. You can't deny that. XD

And this chapter is the start of more scenes with these side characters. Mizuiro, for example, had his own screen time in a chapter extra. Where he was shown having problems with his mother. That is the beauty of Bleach which I have come to love. (and you know how I hound after these type of characters XD)

What I liked in that scene is how, as you said, Ichi-nii friends are so familiar with him, that you don't need to question why they were curious with his attitude.

And yes. Seeing Keigo getting hit by Mizuiro cracks me up. XD I never stopped laughing at Keigo-bashing no matter how much we all love him. <3 But I must say. The best hit came from both of Matsumoto's attacks.

[4] HAH! When I read that in the Philippines, I didn't really see much, just because I wasn't really concentrating. But I kept reading the part about him coming back by then. So yay! GO ME XD

But this month being August, I'm slightly worried that Kubo's going to do some 'time-skip-no-jutsu'. Judging by the one month thing, it's October by now, in there, methinks. So just two more months to the Winter Fights. NO TIMESKIP PLEASE! :wtf I don't want Bleach to end soo soon! (That is, if it is ending after this arc) But then again, the whole plot of Bleach had always been about Aizen wasn't it?

Nothing woud have started if it wasn't for Aizen.

...

Or Kisuke. *cough*

[5] From when Hime was announced to leave, I knew Tatsuki had to know. I was kinda slightly shocked that she went to see Ichi and not her best friend, but whatever. XD

But yay. HAPPY DAYS! Coz Tatsuki is teh luff. <3 If I've got Yachiru's spazinnes, I definitely got Tatsuki's tomboyish-ness. At least when I was in junior high. >__>

Also, Tatsuki's next closest friend is definitely Ichigo. Sure, she's got her group of girlfriends. But it's always been Ichigo from the very start. Right before Hime came, even. I'll explain more on that in the next one.

[6] You're right.

Tatsuki has all the right to be pissed. She's Hime's best friend. What's more, Ichigo and her seemed to have made a promise that they'd never keep secrets from each other. It's jsut sad how it's been broken from the very beginning.

Even then, during the Grand Fisher fight, Tatsuki had always, and still cared for her former best friend. It's that extra chapter ofthat volume, methinks. Right after the fight, Ichigo is looking at the creek, and sitting on the grass.

Tatsuki comes in an asks him why he's skipped two days of school, and he replies that she's skipped school as well, since she's out early. She then says that it's alright for her since she's well trusted at school.

And Tatsuki remembers the same day, back in 5th grade, when her name sudden;y changes from Tatsuki-chan to Tatsuki. Courtesy of Ichigo. And the change of his attitude. And she remembers all the changes that happened. His height, and more especially, his expressions.

She then goes on to think that she feels somewhat lonely, when all that happened. She was no longer 'Tatsuki-chan', afterall. But plainly Tatsuki.

(later, she tells him to come with her to the arcade saying that the thing that never changed was that she was still much better at playing XD)

But yeah. I see just how much rage she has in her. Especially since she still sees Ichigo as her good friend. Nothing has changed much between them, to her. But to Ichigo...I think it's because he thinks that everything is his problem. That's Ichigo for you.

But yeah. Good job, girl! Hit him hard, coz he deserved that.

ACK

And I have to go for awhile. I'll complete this in an hour, or two.

[edit]

[7] As I've said previously, Kisuke is definitely involved in everything related to Bleach. Him (or possibly, Aizen) might as well be the main characters, who are working in the background.

The person who knows the most is definitely him, if not someone else.

Even though Urahara is a great darkhorse-type character, I'd still like to see him firmly on the side of the angels for a while.

Same here. While we don't really know for sure who's side he's working on, it's great to see him working with the good guys, while seemingly be a bad guy himself. XD

I digress, though. (Thank you, Mentos. :eyeroll)

If he's the person who knows alot, then why not say all? We all know he's hiding something, and as much as many people think that's it's for some evil plot he's thinking up off, I'd like to believe he's protecting someone. Or something. Or everyone. :s

Otherwise, why would the Goddess herself help him? Or leave SS with him? (we all know who she is XD)

[8] Same here. I pretty much was sure about Sado showing up. Ishida's showing up shocked me a bit, but that was more because I wanted Tatsuki. And. Not. Him.

T___T Beh. But my mind came somewhat off an ease, when I read this week's chapter. Tatsuki's bit. Not...others.(And you know how my mind's been affected by the...recent developments)

I was somewhat hoping Ishida would'nt be in Ichi's side for a few more chapters, until Hime's mentioned maybe (okay, ignore the Hime part. That was the fangirl in me). I mean, sure. Ichigo isn't a Shinigami. Anymore.

Still.

I wanted to see the tension between them. Blah. Ah well.

[9] Ichigo's learned alot this in this very day, hasn't he? He's learned that his old friend has never really forgotten, and he's learnt that he can't do anything himself. He's learnt the most important lesson in his life.

That he isn't the only person concerned. That he isn't the only one who can save Orihime. That he isn't the only strong person.

He's finally learnt to work as a team. Sure, he has done so in the past, but w all know how Ichigo likes taking things by himself. And yeah, there are times when he's admitted to needing some help. But you know what I mean. >_<

Now, while I hoped for Tatsuki to be Ichigo's sidekick (especially after seeing two chapter covers with only them both in the art: Junior High, and the present), but Sado would seem cool.

Especially since heis new arm is feckin' awesome.

[10] Another rescue arc is on the way, it seems. And yes, I agree, things are different now, then back then. Orihime has trusted Ichigo soo much, that she's sure that she'll get back soon. But she's also sure that she'll be able to do much herself, this time around.

Even if it's a year late, it still holds truth. And it's coming true, as seen in the latest chapter. Tatsuki's definitely in on things. She's going to save Hime. And Inoue probably knows that.

Of course, the next page, Inoue says "If the place I'm going to is somewhere Tatsuki can't go, then please wait for me here. I will come back for sure. Come back to Tatsuki's side."

She can't leave forever.

And I'm happy to see that your predictions about Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro was right. O__O;; Congrats. XD But it doesn't seen Kisuke's joining them. T__T Beh. Oh well. Hiding in the sidelines again, and observing things in his own little world.

<3

Gah.

I've never enjoyed any ten comments, as much as this. You gotta keep them coming. I've rambled for over an hour, at least. Enjoyable. Just as much as eating a strawberry lolipop. You own, Ken chan!

Gold Knight

August 26, 2006, 04:11 PM

XD and your reply owns DZ. Thanks so much. It really does make me feel like I didn't waste my time doing a Bleach Ten Comments (since it really didn't seem to garner as much attention as a Naruto review) if you enjoyed it that much. So thank you.

And that's a good point about Tatsuki being the other person Orihime always trusted to take care of her - that may end up being more the case here that Tatsuki finds her instead of Ichigo. I'd love that twist as well.

Would suck if Tatsuki ends up being captured herself and being another problem for Ichigo though... but I digress. >.>

Ishida's appearance was really out of the blue. Really strange, but I guess he's another one who does want to help Orihime out. I just wonder how he knew (maybe he had a run-in with Chad, though.)

P.S. Just so people know, I AM working on Ten Comments for BOTH Naruto and Bleach for this week. It's just taking me a while longer than usual because of there being so many problems with the server, as you guys all already know about. Hopefully I'll get them both up within the weekend, though.

Dragonzair

August 26, 2006, 04:57 PM

Actually, if Tatsuki does end up being the one needing help, then that would somewhat be a really cool plot.

I honestly don't remember the story of the Dragon and the Princess, nor how the Prince was involved...but it would be nice to see the Dragon being transformed into a Princess.

I'm rambling. but yeah.

This chapter did see a different side of Tatsuki, which we see in very rare occasions. The first one was when she was talking to Hime about Ichi's past. Next came that bit about her being distant to Ichigo soon after his mom died.

Then came that part where she wished Orihime wouldn't go too far away. Next was when she saw Ichigo fighting as a Shinigami.

In technicality, she's lost both her best friends. First it was Ichigo. Now it's Orihime.

What's more, Orihime seems to be determined to not need any more help now, right? In other words, she's becoming a 'Dragon' herself. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tatsuki breaking down, once again. XD

But I digress.

I'm rambling.

And jsut because I love to digress, I digress.

Tatsuki will become the Princess in despair. She's probably so emotionally challenged now, too. She's so worried about rescuing her best friend, that when Kisuke mentions about Ichigo being in despair as well, she's probably realised that she's forgotten about his feeling as well.

Blargh.

I'm rambling. So ignore this post. I jsut want to type whatever's in my brains now. Coz I'm about to go to sleep. G'night! <3

kiddo7

August 27, 2006, 11:54 PM

OH thank you, thank you, thank you!
I have been yearning for a place where i could disscuss Bleach champters with others for a while now. I loved your Naruto comments And I so hoped that there would be something simmilar for bleach as well. but I could not find anything that felt right. But now, who would have thought? The great Gold Knight himself, started a thread where we can discuss bleach and share our impressions of the latest chapters. You are officially my hero!

And what interesttiong chapters we have been having lately! There could be no better time for you to sstart a discussion than now. On second tought I would have loved you even more if you would have started at the begining of the last arc but I am not complaining at all.

239 was great though by now it is slightly blending with 240 in my mind and I am having toruble distinguishing wich events happened when. but I guss I will just read the chapters a few mnore times to refresh my mind.

1.) I would have to say that ichigo and shinji are more alike than anyone else in the story I also thought he fit in very well with the vizzards and that to some degree he feels lilke he found a home. The bandages and the than you note, that he left behind to be discovered, are a sign of this. And shinji's reaction is exactly how ichigo would have reacted, if my guess is worth anything.

2.)Hm... I dont have much to say about the colored pages because enything I might want to say, you have already said more eloquently and you have already analyzed more diligently. Well maybe the one thing would be that I do not think that this double spread is an exhibition of Kubo Tite's anger towards the world or the human species in general. I much more get the feeling that he is just trying to create interesting situations with his characters. and maybe every once in a while give us some short and interesting sttatements for our minds to work over a little. I mean think about it! If you where an artist what better way would you think of to experiment with your characters, do something different, or just let your creativity go on a ride without any restrictions? I also sometimes get the feel that his covers are like abstract paintings. You can see an entire story in them if you look the right way. but I was not even going to comment on this so I guess i better move on.

3.) The teacher here is an interesting character and I am glad you commented on her. For one thing, I remember thinking that she has to be by far the crazyest teacher I have ever heard of back when ichigo was for the most part the only one with superpowers. Then with everything that happened after that I had tottaly forgotten that she even existed. I remember when i first saw her in the pannel i spent quite some time trying to figure out who she is and why she knows ichigo and what she is talking about anyway.

5./6.) I just loved this scene! Probably the only person who understands ichigo better than Inoue is his childhood friend Tatsuki. And now she is distrought and asks for his help or even just to let her understand what is happening, and he cannot tell her! I don't blame him at all. I mean he did not very much hide it from the rest of his friends after he found out they can see him and look where it has led. also he obviously knows that what he is about to do is going to become ugly, Much uglier than rescuing rukia! The fact that he gruffly pushes tham away from himself forbidding them to become part of anything he is doing, in itself is a sign that Ichigo cares for his friends. I will not go into the issue about trust and the whole haveing to do everything by himself deal. But If I where him iwould have done it the same way exactly! Infact this is the course of action I have chosen in the past when confronted with a similarly difficult situation. OK the stakes where not nearly as high but you know what I mean. Anyway I have to get bak on track.

7.) I think Uruhara-san is firmly on the good side. He simply does not like to reveal all he knows befpre it is absolutely necessary. I mean just think about it, every body loves him exactly because you never know what he is really planning or how much he knows. And the fact that he knows ichigo's father seems to suggest that they are on the same side.

8.) I have to say I like Chad's methods of persuasion. :smile-big He has been one of my favorite characters for quite a while and I can't wait to see some more action from him. It is also nice to see that his "upgrade was not a full body armor as most people on this forum ahve been predicting/dreading. YOu know it is actually funny Chad and Tatsuki both did virtually exactly the same thing and got opposite results; First they said they want to help/come along/ find out WTH is going on then ichigo said no way then they punched him. only poor Tatsuki-chan's punch was not as "compelling", shall we say?, as Sado-kun's. I just have to say again I am really sorry for her, she must be going insane just trying to figure out what's going on.

9.) Yeah, chad rocks! And now he will be able to show how much, can't wait for the next chapters.

I don't feel like I have to comment on all of the ten comments and I have been ranting for a while now so I guess I will just wrap it up.
GK is the man!!! Don't you ever forget that .

venicia777

August 29, 2006, 03:11 PM

GK- you are here too. Very soon you will be doing berserk and all the others.
anyways this was a good read.

Luckas

August 29, 2006, 05:09 PM

Very interesting comments GK.
Last chapters of Bleach give me mixed feelings; I feel lost and I can't imagine in which direction will go the story, do you remeber when Hirako at the beginning of Ichigo traing with vaizards said he know s everything about Aizen and HYuogoku(sp)Did Tite forget about this? Or maybe Ichigo? From this moment when I read Bleach I didn't feel compelled, so I'm waiting that Bleach will hook me again.
:offtopic And it's the same for One Piece.

ibra87

August 29, 2006, 06:11 PM

great comments, GK. I don't know why, but it seems as if I had completely forgotten about your comments after the site went down. Anyhow I hope you continue, as it's definitely not a waste of time.

One thing I'm really glad for is seeing Ishida again, but that too pisses me off. He promised to never help a shinigami again, and now he's fighting side by side with Ichigo? What happened to the Quincy pride?
I was actually looking forward to an Ishida vs Shinigami at some point, especially that research captain.

Dragonzair

September 01, 2006, 04:19 AM

Very interesting comments GK.
Last chapters of Bleach give me mixed feelings; I feel lost and I can't imagine in which direction will go the story, do you remeber when Hirako at the beginning of Ichigo traing with vaizards said he know s everything about Aizen and HYuogoku(sp)Did Tite forget about this? Or maybe Ichigo? From this moment when I read Bleach I didn't feel compelled, so I'm waiting that Bleach will hook me again.
:offtopic And it's the same for One Piece.

I don't think Kubo forgot about it (I doubt he will XD). But from what I gather about the Vaizards, is that they don't really care much about the ongoings now. All they want is to expand their family.

So they wouldn't want to get involved at all with this. Maybe in the near future? But I somehow doubt it. XD They haven't really picked a side in the fight yet...

As for Ichigo, he also knows this. And he was planning to find Hime himself. Chad and Uryuu just dragged themselves along, without his permission.[br]Posted on: September 01, 2006, 05:15:58 AM_________________________________________________
One thing I'm really glad for is seeing Ishida again, but that too pisses me off. He promised to never help a shinigami again, and now he's fighting side by side with Ichigo? What happened to the Quincy pride?

He found a loophole. As we saw in the latest chapter. He says that Ichigo was not backed up by SS, and that Ichi-nii was just a temp Shinigami.

Still, I had thought the reason was that Ichigo wasn't a Shinigami, but a Vaizard. But I remembered that no one really knew that. XD

Also, if Ishida cared that much about he Quincy Pride (and he did...but he's finally found friends, methinks)he'd not have involved himself in the very beginning.

Luckas

September 01, 2006, 05:19 AM

I don't think Kubo forgot about it (I doubt he will XD). But from what I gather about the Vaizards, is that they don't really care much about the ongoings now. All they want is to expand their family.

So they wouldn't want to get involved at all with this. Maybe in the near future? But I somehow doubt it. XD They haven't really picked a side in the fight yet...

As for Ichigo, he also knows this. And he was planning to find Hime himself. Chad and Uryuu just dragged themselves along, without his permission.
The problem is Shinji Hirako said to Ichigo he knew all the secrets and then we never heard anything about that, it' just ridiculous imho.

Dragonzair

September 01, 2006, 01:42 PM

We'll only know when Bleach is over. XD We still have more chapters to go.